Gold Coast History

Archaeological evidence from the Gold Coast region suggests that there were Aboriginal people living here for approximately 23,000 years before the area was settled by Europeans. The first Europeans to reach the Gold Coast were sailing under the command of Captain Cook in 1770, although the area was not settled until 1823, when an explorer, John Oxley, landed at a beach that he named after his ship, the Mermaid. Colonization did not begin seriously until after about 1840, when charts of the Gold Coast were drawn up.

At the time when Europeans were only just discovering the Gold Coast, there were eight Aboriginal family groups living in the region: the Birinburra, Bullongin, Gugingin, Kombumerri, Migunberri, Minjingbal, Mununjali and Wongerriburra. They were all part of the Yugambeh people, and spoke the same language, although some appear to have used slightly different dialects. There were also some other Aboriginal people living nearby, the Kombumerri at Burleigh Heads and the Bundjalung in the area that is now the Nightcap National Park. There are still plenty of interesting traditional sites to see around the Park. The other National Parks in the area, Lamington, Burleigh and Springbrook, also have some Aboriginal sites, and bora rings can be seen at the historic site in Tweed Heads. The Yugambeh Museum sometimes holds exhibitions in the area that offer an insight into the local traditional culture.

The area around Bundall, which is just across the river from Surfers Paradise, was an important location for Aboriginal peoples. Huge gatherings or corroborees were held there, with people coming from as far away as Maryborough and Grafton to join in the festivities. Before the land began to be developed, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were still visible traces of these meetings, although the Yugambeh had gradually been driven out of their traditional homes since the arrival of the European settlers, who needed large areas of land for farming and timber production. By the year 1890, the few remaining Yugambeh had been moved away from the Gold Coast to reserves in other areas.

The first Europeans to settle in the region were drawn to it by the seemingly endless supply of timber. By 1865, there was a large enough population for a township to be founded. Nerang became the base of timber operations in the area. More settlers moved in and began to farm the surrounding land, with another township, Southport, being settled in 1875. Many people moved into the area to exploit the land by building cattle stations. These were later converted into dairy farms or used to grow sugar and cotton. There are a number of interesting historic landmarks relating to this era that can be seen in Beudesert Shire. The Tweed River Marine and Heritage Museum has a wide selection of artifacts relating to local history.

The Gold Coast area became a popular destination for tourists as early as 1885, thanks to the Governor of Queensland, a man called Musgrave, who chose to build his holiday home near Southport. This attracted more visitors to the area, and soon it was one of the favorite playgrounds of the rich and powerful. The town got its own railway line in 1889, which pushed ahead further development. Soon the area was filled with hotels and guesthouses. It was the improvements made to the road system in 1925 that stimulated the next major growth in the area, as Southport became linked to Brisbane. The Surfers Paradise hotel was constructed in the same year, and the tourist numbers skyrocketed, with increasing numbers of visitors driving to the area throughout the 1930s. The original Surfers Paradise hotel was destroyed by fire in 1936, but it was replaced with a huge new art deco style hotel of the same name. In 1933, the local people had opted to change the name of their home to Surfers Paradise, demonstrating the importance of the hotel and the tourist trade even back then.

Many Australian and American servicemen were stationed in the area during the Second World War, and the region was later a popular destination for ex-servicemen looking for a place to rest and enjoy themselves. It was during the 1940s that the area became known as the Gold Coast, although nobody knows exactly who came up the name, or why. There are many different stories, ranging from a joke about the high prices in the area, to a simple description of the region’s beaches. Whatever its origin, the name caught on, and was adopted by many local businesses from the 1950s onwards, and even by the Gold Coast City itself.

In more recent times, the development of the Gold Coast has continued, with high-rise buildings springing up that can rival anything Miami has to offer, and the Gold Coast Airport at Coolangatta opening in 1981, and a number of theme parks and attraction being built during the 1980s. The 1980s and 1990s were not all golden for the region, however, due to some unethical businesspeople and real estate scams. Despite these problems, the area remains popular with tourists.

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